Posts Tagged ‘film’

Summer blockbusters did not disappoint this year and neither did summer ticket sales. Blair Stover reports that summer ticket revenue in the North American continent totaled 4.71 billion dollars. This is only for the time period between the first weekend in May and Labor Day. Ticket sales increased 10.2 percent over the previous year during the same time period.

More people attended the movies this summer. Ticket sales rose 6.6 percent over last summer to nearly 573 million. The rest of the growth was contributed to the higher prices of tickets.

There are some other factors involved in the growth numbers. Hollywood crammed a larger number of big-budget movies into this summer. It is understandable since summer accounts for 40% of total box office revenues. This summer, studios released 23 films which cost 75 million dollars and more (sometimes much more). This is an increase of 53% over the same time period last year.

With all of the choices, audiences fragmented over a solid summer favorite. This left films such as “The Hangover Part III” and “The Wolverine” swaying when they should have been aces in the whole. The animated “Turbo” from DreamWorks Animation brought in one of the smallest totals in the history of the company.

The National Association of Theater Owners recognizes that this summer offered almost too much product. Although, overall, the association was quite pleased with the overall box office summer strength. The 4.71 billion dollars in total ticket sales this summer scored a new high mark in the industry.

The George Lucas Era is over and the JJ Abrams era has begun – at least when it comes to Star Wars. We’re fans of Abrams new Star Trek, and when we heard that Abrams was going to be involved with Star Wars we had to update all of you here at Blair Stover Hollywood about it.

Lucasfilm and Disney are still teaming up to make the picture but it is a brand new world on the horizon, especially for fans. One of the biggest questions that arise is what will Episode VII cover? What about VII and IX?

Many people are certainly excited to see an implementation of the Thrawn trilogy and numerous rumors are pointing at the popular trilogy as being the basis for Episode VII. After all, the trilogy is widely popular and widely accepted. Sure it must be the basis for the next installment.

According to E!Online, however, Lucasfilm has come out with an official statement regarding the matter, and the answer may disappoint many a fan.

“It’s a completely new story,” a source told E! Online.

In other words, forget the old “Star Wars” novels and forget the comics. Forget every little thing you might know about what happened to Luke Skywalker. According to sources, Episode VII will be unlike anything that you have ever read or seen from the vast “Star Wars” universe.

So what do you think? Were you hoping for the Thrawn trilogy or are you excited to see something new in the works in regards to the Star Wars fandom as a whole?

Sources close to “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. say he deserves about 25 times as much as Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans, and about ten times as much as Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson for his role in the Avengers 2. We can’t resist some good gossip here on Blair Stover Hollywood, so read on to find out what we’ve sussed out from the news.

You might have heard of the multi-million dollar deal that Robert Downey Jr. was able to negotiate for his involvement in The Avengers. The actor received $50 million dollars due to negotiations that gave him a percentage of profit sharing. This amount, however, is nothing compared to the amount that is currently wafting through the rumor mill for the sequel.

Robert Downey Jr. wants to play his major role in the Avengers 2 movie and the fourth part of Iron Man, yet wants to earn a bigger piece of the pie as well. With the franchise promising to deliver on projected, big numbers, RDJ is asking for higher pay to the tune of $100 million. In comparison, the current highest paid actor is a well-deserved Tom Cruise, thanks to the sensational success of Mission: Impossible and Ghost Protocol, making a good $75 million.

A good basis for Robert Downey Jr.’s $100 million offer is the box office results of Iron Man 3. The sales are currently over the $1 billion dollar mark. In such sums, giving $100 million to Robert Downey Jr. shouldn’t be a problem. Marvel, however, is notorious for slow negotiations and it is no surprise that deliberations are slow in happening.

One thing is certain, The Avengers 2 is set for April, 30 2015. Whether Robert Downey Jr. will play Tony Stark or if he will be replaced is still up in the air.

Who would you like to see play Iron Man should Marvel decline to sign on RDJ again?

Universal Pictures is releasing a screen adaption of the musical ‘Les Miserables’ on December 25th. Blair Stover reports that the musical film will be starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.

Anne Hathaway plays the ill-fated Fantine who becomes sick and turns to prostitution as a means to support her daughter. Hathaway shows off her impressive set of pipes with a musical number that is sure to bring a tear to the theater audience.

Hathaway had to go through some dramatic changes for this role. She had to lose 25 pounds and chopped off her hair to look more like the disease-ridden Fantine. Her first reaction to seeing her short hair was thinking that she ‘looked like her gay brother, Michael!’

Hathaway’s powerful role as Fantine has won over the crowd and many are expecting her to win the Best Supporting Actress award at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Disney acquires Lucasfilm from founder, George Lucas. Blair Stover has the details below.

Walt Disney Company became the leader in fantasy movies when it purchased Lucasfilm from its founder, George Lucas for $4.05 billion in stock and cash.

George Lucas, 68, has already announced that he would step down from day-to-day operations for the company but nobody saw this coming. Lucasfilm grew due to the huge success of the “Star Wars” film series and has become an example of great effects-driven science fiction entertainment for large and small screens.

Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive, says that Disney plans on reviving the “Star Wars” series with the release of a seventh film in 2015. After that, there will be new films in the series every two or three years. Disney acquired a detailed treatment from Lucas for the next three “Star Wars” films and Lucas will still be hands on with future films.

Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the rights to the “Star Wars” movies based off of the potential revenue of future films. “Star Wars” already has a place in the Disney theme parks.

Disney has already purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion and Pixar Animation Studies for $7.4 billion in 2006. With the addition of Lucasfilm, Disney has solidified its status as leader in animation and superhero films.

The “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” star has landed another major role. Blair Stover has the details below.

Johnny Depp has been offered the lead role in Wally Pfister’s upcoming film, “Transcendence.” Depp has accepted the role of a husband who gets sucked into an evil man-made computer. He will receive $20 million for his role in the movie.

Noomi Rapace is being considered by Pfister for the lead female role in the film. James McAvoy and Tobey Maguire are also being considered for the other two leading male roles. It is also reported that Chistoph Waltz is being considered for a supporting role.

In other movie news, Michael Fassbender, Hugh Grant, and Bradley Cooper have also been placed into new leading roles.

The Peanuts characters are almost 65 years old and are planning to celebrate in a big way. Blair Stover has the details below.

In 2015, Charlie, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and Sally will all be hitting the big screen in celebration of their 65th anniversary. The comic strip first ran on October 2, 1950, created by the late Charles Schulz, Charlie and Co. 2015 will also mark the 50th anniversary of the first airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Blue Sky Studios is teaming up with 20th Century Fox to create this Peanuts gang film. The script for this film has been co-written by the original creator Charles Schulz’s son, Craig Schulz, and grandson, Bryan Schulz, along with Cornelius Ulian. Craig Schulz stated, “We have been working on this project for years. We finally felt the time was right and the technology is where we need it to be to create this film. I am thrilled we will be partnering with Blue Sky/Fox to create a Peanuts movie that is true to the strip and will continue the legacy in honor of my father.”

Writer Kelly Marcel has been chosen to be the screenwriter for the erotic love story, “50 Shades of Grey.” Blair Stover has the details below.

Universal Pictures and Focus Features won the rights to the “50 Shades” series in March and released a statement this month announcing Kelly Marcel as the screenwriter. “50 Shades of Grey” is the first book in a trilogy, written by Erika Leonard who writes under the name E L James. The trilogy follows the relationship of a naïve girl’s sexual experiences with a possessive, billionaire.

Producing the film will be Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti. Brunetti stated, “We were all taken with the depth and passion of Kelly’s engagement with the characters and world E L James has created and we knew she was the right person to augment out Fifty Shades family.”

Marcel is known for her writing of the TV series “Terra Nova” and the Marry Poppins bio-pic “Saving Mr. Banks.” Marcel recently tweeted, “Beyond thrilled to be jumping aboard the 50 Shades train. Very Exciting!”

“50 Shades of Grey” has sold over 32 million copies in the United States alone.

In 2011, it was announced that the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ sequel was actually happening and since then, it has been a rollercoaster for the new film.

Jim Carrey announced this past summer that he was bailing on the project due to the lack of interest from the studio. Word then came out that Jim Carrey was back on the project, along with Jeff Daniels. The Farrelly brothers have tweeted that the script for ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ is nearly complete and also confirmed the film’s official title.

The tweet stated: “You also might be interested to know that we are almost done with the Dumb and Dumber To script. I think you’re going to like it.” The brothers later tweeted a fan saying that the sequel is “following Jim C. and Jeff D.”

The Farrelly brothers have not said what the plot of the film is or when production is going to start. The only information that Blair Stover has as of now is that the film is going to star Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and will be written and directed by the Farrelly brothers.

If you ever saw the original E.T. then this is going to be a huge treat as well as a rush of nostalgia. Steven Spielberg is teaming up with theaters and production crews to release the 80’s blockbuster hit with never seen before footage. Expected date: October 3rd, 2012, on the big screen no less, and Blair Stover has all the details below.

It’s a plot almost everyone knows: A goblin-like extraterrestrial being has lost his way on the earth. He ends up making a friend with the unlikeliest of people- a 10-year boy named Elliott, who hides with him in the nursery and tells him everything that he needs to know about his people and their world. As the stranger suffers terrible homesickness, he decides the boy has to help him find a way back to his home planet.

Spielberg’s original E.T. came at a cost of around $10 million dollars- a rather small production at the time. Yet it remains as one of the most successful films all time, or at the very least one of the most beloved.

E.T. is built on contemporary sci-fi dream images which deal with human values and the great understanding of each other’s problems. This film is like a good bottle of wine – over the years it gets better.

The hero of the film, Elliott, is played by Henry Thomas. It is the best acting performance of any of the child actors of the 80’s in an American film. He is, of course, defiant, slightly stirred, smart, brave and childlike. With his peculiar gait, the high screams surprise, his imitation experiments of human speech and his cat-like purring, E.T. is a perfect role in itself. The extra-terrestrial has become one of the most fascinating fictional characters ever designed and it reminds us why there are films being created today.

Set to come back to the big screen, now is your chance to experience the magic full-sized. Look for an early October release, and be sure to enjoy it while you can!